Paradigm Shift: Misdirection
by Hope Eien no
Summary: Hope Estheim and Serah Farron have been best friends since childhood, but will this change when Serah gets a new boyfriend, Noel Kreiss?
1. Chapter 1

_**So this is my second attempt at a FFXIII series fic. There will be more chapters in the future so don't worry if a few things don't make sense just yet as they may be explained fully in a later chapter. Anyway as ever reviews mean alot to me and are what drive me to write more chapters and more fics so please review if you can. Hope you enjoy** ^_^_

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'Hope! Hurry up or we'll be late for school!'

Hope woke up and sat up in his bed to see Serah Farron standing in the doorway; she was covering her mouth with her left hand and laughing.

'What are you doing in my room?!'

'Your mom let me in. Now hurry up and get dressed before you make us both late!'

Hopes face went red as he realised he was wearing nothing from the waist up. Serah simply giggled before turning around and leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Hope removed the sheets from on top of himself before stepping out of bed and moving over to his wardrobe. He picked out a black t-shirt, an orange jacket, a green scarf and a pair of khaki shorts. He quickly put all of his clothes on, not wanting to make either him or his friend Serah late.

Hope had known Serah Farron for most of his life. Hopes parents had used to babysit Serah's older sister Lightning before Serah had been born. When the Farron sisters' parents died the Estheims helped Lightning by taking care of Serah when Lightning had to work late and also by giving Lightning financial help when money was short. Lightning didn't like accepting their help but she knew it was the best option for her sister and that the Estheims were only trying to help. School ended at 3:00PM and Lightning would not get home from work until 7:00PM so from the age of 4-13, when Serah became old enough to take care of herself adequately, Serah would go to the Estheim's house after school until Lightning came to pick her up after work. This meant that Hope and Serah grew up together and despite Hope being 1 year younger than her, the two of them remained best friends throughout school.

Hope ran down the stairs as fast as he could, Serah was standing at his front door, holding it open for him.

'There you are Hope! Come on we're going to be late for history!'

Hope really didn't want to be late for History, it was his favourite class. Although Hope was a year younger than Serah, he had been moved up a year because of his intelligence and was in almost all of Serah's classes.

Hope walks through his front door and shuts it behind him. Hope and Serah have walked to school together for years but somehow they always found something to talk about.

They were almost at the school when Serah pulled out her phone and stared at the screen, grinning.

'Noel's just text me, he's asking where we are'

Noel was Serah's boyfriend; they'd been going out for around a month now and they seemed really happy with each other. Hope still wasn't sure about Noel though, in truth it wasn't because he didn't like Noel rather that he was scared that their relationship would get in the way of Hope's and Serah's friendship. However Hope preferred Noel to Serah's last boyfriend Snow, Hope hated him, he was just so smug, Hope secretly loved seeing the look on Snow's face the day Serah broke up with him.

'Serah!' Noel ran over, pulling his girlfriend into a warm embrace as Hope and Serah walked through the school gates.

Hope just stood there awkwardly whilst Noel and Serah kissed. He hated situations like this, he felt so uncomfortable.

Noel broke the kiss and turned to Hope.

'Hey Hope, how are you doing man?' Noel ruffled Hope's hair.

Noel always ruffled his hair, Hope thought it was patronising at first but he has grown to actually like it and almost see it as a sign of affection. Hope shook his head in an attempt to let his hair fall back into place.

'Errrm… Hi Noel, I'm fine thanks, how are you?'

'I'm great Hope' Noel said with his trademark grin on his face. The bell rings 'Well…. great if you don't count the fact that I have to sit in an hour long history lesson'.

Noel hated classes, he was nowhere near as academic as Hope or Serah, however he wasn't stupid, he was just the type of guy who does an assignment at 1AM on the morning that it was due in and the type of guy who did the bare minimum required to achieve a pass. Noel would much rather spend his time playing video games or with Serah than trying to get an A grade.

The 3 of them went to history class, Noel holding hands with Serah and Hope noticeably awkwardly walking alongside them.

After an hour of Noel drawing doodles in his notebook, whilst Serah and Hope scribbled down notes of everything their teacher was saying, the bell rang and the class was dismissed. Noel and Serah got up from their seats and started heading towards the door to leave, when Serah turned, noticing Hope walking towards the front of the class.

'Hey Hope are you coming?' Serah shouted to her friend, rewarding her with a glare from the history teacher.

'Yeah, just go without me, I'll catch up in a sec, I just need to ask a few questions' Hope replied, but in a quieter voice as to not earn a glare from the teacher.

Serah nodded and smiled in response, before dragging Noel out of the classroom with her.

3 minutes later Hope left the classroom, shutting the door behind him, he then began to walk towards his next class, music.

'Hope!'

Hope turned around to see Snow down the corridor, hurtling towards him.

'Oh great' Hope whispered under his breath, as Snow reached him.

'Hope, I wanted to talk to you about Noel and Serah'


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey, not really much to say, just thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, please continue to review and hope you enjoy ^_^**_

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Hope stared at Snow for a second, wondering what he could possibly want to talk to him about in relation to Noel and Serah. Hope had always hated Snow, he always thought that Serah could do better than him.

'Hope, I need Serah back, I am nothing without her, you gotta help me man!' Snow pleaded

Hope really didn't care, he hated Snow and there was no way he wanted anything to do with getting him back with Serah.

'No'

'Aww, c'mon Hope, I know you don't like Serah having a boyfriend, but you have to face it, she's just not interested in you like that'

Hope's face went bright red; it would have been difficult to tell whether it was because of embarrassment or anger.

'What?! Snow I am not interested in Serah like that, we're just… friends'

'Ah, c'mon hope anyone can see that you like her as more than a friend'

Hope didn't even know what to say, he was completely dumbstruck, he didn't know how to convince Snow that he didn't like Serah like that. So Hope just spun round and walked off to his next class. Luckily Snow was 18 years old and so he was in the year above Serah, Hope and Noel, meaning he was not in any of their classes.

'Yeah, that's it Hope, just walk away from the truth!' Snow shouted as the silver haired boy walked away from him.

Hope walked to his next class with a hundred thoughts bouncing round in his head, mainly concerning Serah and Noel. Hope had always hated Serah having a boyfriend, but then again Snow was Serah's first boyfriend and he simply hated Snow .But with Noel it was different, he didn't like them being together because he was jealous of the time that Serah spent with Noel.

Hope walked into his music class, still caught up in his thoughts.

'Mr. Estheim, it is not like you to be late to class'

Hope snapped out of his thoughts to see a disapproving look on his music teacher's face. Hope glanced around the classroom to see Serah covering her mouth and giggling and Noel sitting next to her with that trademark smirk on his face.

'I.. I'm sorry' Hope simply responded before walking across the classroom and taking an empty seat next to Serah.

The class resumed as normal and the teacher was babbling on about something whilst facing the board.

'Hey Hope, why were you late to class? That's not like you' whispered Serah from his right.

'Err.. I had to go to the toilet' Hope stumbled

'Hope you can't lie to me, I've know you forever and you're my best friend, so what's the real reason?'

There was a slight pause, before the teacher turned back around and both Serah and Hope buried their heads in their books so not to get in trouble. Hope had been saved, but he knew Serah and he knew she wouldn't forget about it and that he would have to come up with an excuse for why he was late and an excuse for why he lied to her about it in the first place.

A few minutes passed before Serah silently ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook, wrote on it, folded it up and slid it along the table to Hope, without looking at him.

Hope picked up the folded piece of paper, unfolded it and read it in his head

_Hope, come to my house after school today, Lightning won't be home until 7 so it will give us plenty of time to talk x_

Hope was relieved that he would have plenty of time to come up with a decent excuse and excited to have some alone time with his best friend. He flipped the note over and wrote on the back.

_Ok I'll be there x_

Hope folded the note up and slid it back across the table to Serah. Hope glanced over to Serah to see her holding it in her left hand and smiling, Hope then let his gaze fall downward to see she was holding Noel's hand underneath the table, Hope's heart fell slightly in his chest. Hope wanted that to be his hand touching that smooth skin.

The rest of the day passed fairly normally with Noel and Serah being inseparable, always kissing and holding hands whilst Hope just stood alongside them, looking and feeling slightly awkward. Serah always tried to include Hope in hers and Noels conversations and Noel was always happy to deliver the odd cheeky remark and ruffle Hope's hair, but despite this Hope always just felt like a third wheel around the couple.

When the final bell rang and school ended, Serah, Noel and Hope all headed for the front gate.

'Hope, I'm going to go hang out at Noel's house for a bit, drop by my house around 5ish OK?' Serah said with a smile on her face.

_Great_. Hope thought to himself, this means he had to walk home on his own just so Serah could spend more time with her precious boyfriend. Hope tried to hide his disappointment.

'Okay, Serah I'll see you later, bye Noel' Hope said with a forced but convincing smile.

'See ya Hope' Noel said reaching over and ruffling Hope's hair, again.

Hope shook his head in an attempt to make his hair fall back into place again, before waving and turning round to head home. Hope spent the whole of his walk home thinking about how much he was looking forward to spending some alone time with Serah.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Don't really have much to say, just thanks for your continued support and hope you enjoy ^_^**_

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Hope got home and ran upstairs; he threw his bag next to his desk and disappeared into the bathroom. Five minutes later Hope reappeared from the bathroom again. Hope walked over to his desk, pulled out his chair and sat down, before reaching over to the left and picking up his bag to pull out a few sheets of homework which he had received earlier in the day. Hope eagerly finished all of his homework at around 4:40PM; he knew it took him around 10 minutes to walk to Serah's house meaning he had 10 minutes to get himself ready. Hope, quickly re-applied his deodorant, changed his outfit and fixed his hair before running down the stairs and out the front door.

Hope spent the entirety of his walk to Serah's house looking at his reflection in the windows of cars and houses, to make sure his hair was perfect and that he's clothes were straight. Hope, turned the corner onto the path in front of Serah's house, he walked up the path towards the door and pressed his finger lightly against the doorbell. Whilst he waited for Serah to answer he persistently checked his reflection in the window. Eventually Hope heard the door unlock and turned his head towards the door.

'Hope!' Serah ran out of the door crying and pulled Hope into a much needed hug.

Hope was completely dumbstruck; he didn't know what to say, so he just stood there and hugged her back. A few seconds passed before Serah pulled away from the hug and wiped the tears from her eyes.

'Come in' Serah gestured towards the door before stepping through it herself, Hope followed her shortly.

Serah's house wasn't very big, there was a large open plan living area with seating, a dining table and a kitchen and 3 doors, one leading to a bathroom and the others leading to 2 single bedrooms each belonging to one of the Farron sisters. Serah took a seat on one of the sofas and grabbed a box of tissues from a nearby table, she proceeded to take one of the tissues from the box and dry her eyes with it. Hope walked over and sat on the sofa next to her.

'Serah, what's wrong? I mean, I understand if you don't want to tell me, it's just we've been friends for years now and…'

'It's alright Hope, I want to tell you' Serah interrupted her silver haired friend.

'It all happened whilst I was at Noel's house'

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_We were sitting around and talking as usual and I told him I had to leave soon to get back here in time to see you, and his mood just completely changed. I asked him what was wrong and he told me_

'_Don't go, stay here a little bit longer'_

_I told him I wanted to see you but he started being really weird._

'_You spend time too much time with him! I'm supposed to be your boyfriend Serah not him'_

_I tried explaining to him that we were best friends and have always been, but he wasn't accepting any of it._

'_I want you to spend less time with him; he clearly likes you as more than a friend, why can't you see that?'_

Hope's face went bright red when Serah told him that part of the story.

_I tried explaining to him that I wasn't going to stop talking to my best friend just because he was getting jealous. That's when he told me that if that was the case then _

'_Maybe we shouldn't see each other for a while'_

_I shouted fine at him and grabbed my things; I managed to make it half way home before I started to cry._

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Serah looked up to see Hope's face; he was silent and noticeably awkward.

'Don't worry Hope, I know you don't like me that' Serah said, smiling through the tears.

Hope felt a sense of relief coming over him that Serah was actually one of the few people who didn't think that Hope had feelings for her.

'Serah I'm sorry if I came between you and Noel, I didn't mean to' Hope finally spoke.

'Hope, it's fine it isn't your fault, it's Noel's for being so idiotic'

Hope didn't know what to say, he was never the type to talk behind someone's back so he just stayed quiet.

'You know Hope I'm not sure I want to be with someone who tries to tell me who I can and can't be friends with, but on the other hand I just want him back, I don't know what to do, what do you think?'

Hope really didn't know what to say, he was slightly hurt by the fact that Noel wanted Serah to stop speaking to him, Hope was also slightly hurt because he thought that Noel liked him. In the end he decided it was best for him just to tell the truth.

'Serah, if I was in a relationship Noel… I mean a girl' Hope's face turned red at his mistake 'and they told me not to speak to you, they would be out the door straight away because I don't want someone who is going to try and dictate or change my life'

Hope was still slightly embarrassed at his mistake and was hoping Serah wouldn't bring it up and tease him about it. Luckily for him she didn't.

'Maybe you're right Hope, he said that we shouldn't see each other for a while, maybe it would be better if I completely broke it off with him'

Hope responded with a solemn nod.

The rest of the day continued as normal, Hope left Serah's around 6PM so that she could do some homework before her sister got home. Hope spent the rest of the night completing homework and doing extra reading, whilst all the time contemplating the implications of what Serah had said. Would she really break up with Noel because Hope meant that much to her?


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey, sorry it's been so long since I updated this fic (like 4 months) but I really lost motivation to do so until recently. There will be one more chapter after this one which will tie the whole thing together and I really cannot wait to write and upload it so it should be up within the next week. As usual, thanks for reading and please leave a review if you like it because it really gives me motivation to keep writing! Thanks and hope you enjoy! ^_^_

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Hope awoke at 7AM and the morning continued as normal, he showered, he got dressed, packed his bag and waited for Serah to knock at his door so that they could walk to school together. The walk was exactly the same as usual, Serah didn't even mention Noel or anything that the pair had talked about the previous evening, and it was like the whole thing had never happened. Hope was beginning to think this was because Serah had buckled and taken Noel back, with that thought his heart sank slightly in his chest.

Hope and Serah approached the gates and Noel was standing at one of the pillars waiting for them as usual, this all but confirmed Hope's suspicions and he let out a quiet, disappointed sigh but continued to walk onwards with Serah. As the pair walked near to Noel, Noel stretched his hand out slightly as to grasp for Serah

'Serah…' Was all Noel could manage as Serah walked straight passed Noel completely nonchalantly.

Hope's mouth opened slightly with shock as he continued to walk alongside Serah, passed Noel, without turning back for a second glance at the rejected brunette. Hope looked up at Serah as to search for answers and she simply looked back at him with a single tear running down her cheek and that told him everything that he needed to know. He saw now that she hadn't talked about Noel on the way to school this morning, not because she had gone back to him and she didn't want to tell Hope, but because she'd finally cut everything with him and that talking about him would only hurt her. Hope didn't say anything about it to Serah, instead he just held her hand firmly in his own as to reassure her as they walked through front doors to the school.

The 2 classes before break were pretty much the same as usual but this time Noel sat on the opposite side of the room to Serah and Hope and instead of drawing doodles like he usually did he was just slumped over his desk. Walking in between classes Hope noticed Noel's change in body language and demeanour, he looked solemn and dejected compared to his normally fun and happy self.

The bell rang at the end of their second class and Serah and Hope took a seat in the cafeteria, they were talking for around 5 minutes before Noel joined them on the opposite side of the table and glanced at Hope.

'Hope, would you mind leaving me and Serah to talk for a minute please?'

Hope responded to Noel's request by rising from his seat but he was abruptly pushed back down into it by Serah.

'No Noel. Hope is my best friend and it's perfectly alright for him to be here, you didn't seem to be able to acknowledge that when we were together and it would seem you still aren't able to acknowledge it now when we're… apart' That last part was slightly hard for Serah to say but she knew she'd have to say it at some point.

'Serah, please, I just want a chance to talk to you, a chance to explain…' Noel was cut off by his now ex-girlfriend.

'There's nothing to explain Noel, we're not together anymore and we never will be again, the sooner you accept that, the better'.

Hope glanced between the pair, he could see how much Serah's words had stung Noel and how it hurt her almost as much to say them.

Hope's thoughts were stopped abruptly by Noel smashing his fist against the table in anger before storming off. As soon as Noel left Serah burst into tears and began to cry into her best friend's shoulder, Hope put his arm around her reassuringly but found himself staring at the door through which Noel had left, wanting to chase after him. Hope's eyes widened as he saw Snow glance over at the pair before running out of the door through which Noel had just left through. Hope knew that Noel hated Snow just as much as he did and any meeting between the two of them at this moment would end up in nothing but violence. Hope shook the thought of his best friends' ex-boyfriends from his head to concentrate on Serah's well-being.

A teacher monitoring the cafeteria noticed Serah's crying and took her aside, they talked for a while and he decided it was the best course of action to telephone Lightning and to ask her to come and pick up her sister from school and take her home.

20 minutes later Lightning arrived and Serah ran into her sister's arms with tears running down her cheek . Lightning gave Hope a nod and a smile before walking away with her sister. Hope walked back into the school just in time for the bell to ring, signalling the start of his next lesson. The rest of the day continued as normal for Hope until 3PM. The bell rang to signify the end of school and everyone in the class began to make their way out of the classroom, Hope bent down to pick up his school bag from underneath his desk and when he rose again he found a folded up piece of paper on top of his notebook which he was certain wasn't there before. He unfolded it and read the writing in the middle of it

'_Meet me in the abandoned warehouse around the corner at 5PM, Noel_.'

Hope's heart raced as he finished reading the note, he stared at it for a moment longer before folding it back up again and placing it in his pocket.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, sorry this took me so long to write, I am glad to finally put this story to bed in the way which I have planned from the start. Yes this is the final chapter, so I hope you enjoy it and please review, I'd love to hear your feedback, although I understand this chapter may disappoint some readers. Thank you and Enjoy ^_^**

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Hope spent the entirety of his walk home in a dream state. Some people might have been scared to meet Noel in an abandoned warehouse but Hope wasn't, he was too happy just thinking about the person he'd grown so fond of. Serah and Noel had broken up, it was official, Serah had even said it herself, and this meant there was nothing to get in the way anymore. As Hope walked home alone several thoughts drifted through his mind, all of which about his newly single friend; the way their hair would feel when he ran his hand through it, the way they laughed, even thinking about the way they ate their food made Hope smile. For so long Hope had felt this way but it wasn't until now he had finally been able to accept it, the only things he worried about were what others would think and how Noel would react.

Hope finally reached his home, he quickly ran upstairs and into his room to do his homework. Hope was an exceptional student and he finished his homework in just under an hour. Hope quickly had a shower, before spending 10 minutes making sure his head looked just right. The silver haired boy got dressed in a hurry but took time to makes sure everything about his appearance was perfect, as always. By this time it was 4:45PM so Hope ran down the stairs and out the door and set on his way to meet Noel.

On the way to the abandoned warehouse, the exact same thoughts crossed Hope's mind as did on his walk home but this time he was hit with more pangs of guilt and angst. What if Noel didn't react the way Hope was wishing? If Noel reacted badly then it could ruin all of Hope's plans. Hope shook the thought from his mind, Noel and Hope had been friends for a while and Hope knew that Noel would never do anything to harm Hope.

After 15 minutes walking Hope reached the abandoned warehouse, he pushed the old rusty doors open and proceeded to walk inside. The warehouse was dark with glints of sunshine lighting parts of the building through windows at the top of the building. One ray of sunlight fed down into the very centre of the building and within it Hope could see a figure which he recognised to have Noel's build.

'Noel?' Hope shouted, receiving an echo around the warehouse.

The figure approached Hope .

'So what do you think Hope? Are you happy now?' Noel emerged from the shadows and was now metres away from the silver-haired boy.

Hope raised an eyebrow 'Wha…What do you mean?'

Noel closed the gap even further between the 2 of them and circled around Hope as he continued talking. 'Don't give me that shit Hope, you know exactly what I mean!' Noel's tone sounded somewhat harsh.

Hope began to fumble, he had an idea of what Noel was suggesting but it was a delicate situation if possible Hope wanted to avoid talking about it.

'I honestly don't know what you mean Noel, you're going to have to elaborate' Hope shakily responded.

Noel continued circling around Hope. 'I was so blind, for months I convinced myself that you didn't have feelings for Serah and that even if you did, you would never act upon them because you were kind, caring Hope Estheim and above all you were my friend' Noel stopped circling around Hope and now stood directly in front of the silver haired boy, glaring at him 'And look where trusting you has got me. Serah decided that it was time for our relationship to end, or at least that's what I thought' Noel began circling around Hope once again 'But then Snow told me he saw you making your way to Serah's house yesterday evening and all my suspicions were confirmed' Noel stopped in front of Hope again 'You're a real nasty piece of work, you know that?'

Hope hated this, it was taking all he had to stop himself from bursting into tears.

'Noel, please, I can…' Hope was interrupted by an aggressive sounding Noel.

'Explain? Explain what Hope? That you went to my girlfriend's house and convinced her to dump me, so that you could have a go at her yourself?!' Noel raised his voice significantly 'You were supposed to be my friend Hope! You betrayed me!'

'Noel, please, you have the wrong idea!'

'Don't you dare Hope' Noel shakes his head and laughs slightly 'Even after all this, you're still going to deny it? Just admit it Hope you have feelings for her!'

'No, I don't!' Hope was becoming distraught and agitated and was now raising his voice to match Noel's.

'Yes you do Hope you want her! Noel was now shouting and inching ever closer to Hope.

'No, I don't!' Hope was clearly become very distressed as he placed his head in his hands as to not look at Noel.

Noel was now mere inches away from Hope as he yelled 'Then why?!'

Without even thinking Hope lifted his head out of his hands and shouted at the top of his voice.

'Because I wanted **you**!'

There was an awkward couple of seconds silence as the 2 boys tried to take in what had just been said.

Hope couldn't believe that he'd just blurted it out like that, but he knew that now there was no turning back now he'd said it. The silver haired boy returned his gaze back up to Noel who was looking back at him with an expression of sheer confusion and surprise.

'It was **you **all along. Every time you thought I was staring at her, I was staring at **you**. It was **your **hand I wanted to hold,** your** hair I wanted to run my fingers through. I kept it to myself, I thought it was only a temporary thing and that it would pass, I never had any intentions of anyone finding out, especially not you or Serah. I didn't even know that I was…'

'Gay?' Noel interrupted 'Because I'm **not** gay Hope. What did you think was going to happen? That you would break me and Serah up and I'd suddenly become gay and fall madly in love with you? Is that why you came here today? Because you thought I was here to declare my love for you?! You broke me and Serah up, for **this**?!'

Hope was almost in tears, he had bared his heart to Noel and he could only watch as the brunette he so adored tore it apart in front of him. Barely fighting back the tears Hope managed a single sentence.

'Noel, please, y-you have to believe me, I never meant to break you and Serah up' Hope's voice was cracking.

'Save it Hope. I don't want to hear it. I'm not gay, and even if I was I wouldn't want to go out with a lying little backstabber like **you**!' Noel lowered his face so that it was inches away from Hope's, close enough to see the tears forming in the corner of the silver haired boy's eyes. 'Stay the hell away from me, I never want to see or talk to you again'.

With that, Noel barged passed Hope and out of the warehouse. As the warehouse door swung shut Hope's resilience dissipated, he lowered himself to sit down on the cold dirty ground before erupting into a flood of tears. Knowing he was finally free from his greatest secret didn't help to ease the intense pain he felt in his heart.

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**So there we go, this story comes to a close and hopefully now everything that was unclear has become clear, including the story title. I understand that this is an ending which some people may not have wanted but this was the ending that I had always planned from the moment I had started writing this fic. I understand that some people may have liked to seen a happy ending between Hope and either Serah or Noel but that's not what I desired. Feel free to leave a review, in fact I would leave to hear your comments, especially about whether you liked the way this fic turned out. As a final note, thank you for reading this story, I really hope that you enjoyed doing so ^_^**


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